Evidence Library
This report was produced by researchers at University of Winchester (Applied Criminology). It details the findings of an evaluation of a pilot project which was designed and delivered by BearFace Theatre CIC and funded by Hampshire Cultural Trust which was aimed at using a new Applied Theatre intervention to …
Making for Change Fashion Training and Manufacturing Workshop is a partnership between HM Prison Service and London College of Fashion. Making for Change takes an innovative approach in prison, linked to improving the engagement of women in prison industries by providing training in fashion production skills and accrediting participants …
This report was produced by researchers at University of Winchester (Applied Criminology). It details the findings of an evaluation of a pilot project which was designed and delivered by BearFace Theatre CIC and funded by Hampshire Cultural Trust which was aimed at using a new Applied Theatre intervention to impact …
This report was produced by researchers at University of Winchester (Applied Criminology). It details the findings of an evaluation of a pilot project which was designed and delivered by BearFace Theatre CIC and funded by Hampshire Cultural Trust which was aimed at using a new Applied Theatre intervention to impact …
Sounding Out is a music traineeship which provides former prisoners with longer-term opportunities upon their release, to bridge the gap between inside and outside prison.
The evaluation takes a qualitative approach to explore the views and experiences of participants, staff and family members to understand if and how …
The report evaluates one of Odd Art’s creative programme that uses applied and forum theatre to increase leadership and skills.
The following key outcomes of the Odd Arts Creative Leadership programme all demonstrate factors related to confidence, self-awareness and self-presentation, and, therefore, skills and capacities required to show creative …
This report evaluates the impact of a resettlement programme using forum theatre and therapeutic creative delivery in prisons, adult resettlement centres and secure units. It focuses on the impact good partnership has on effective projects as well as the need for long-term sustained work in prisons to ensure the …
Creative projects and their potential towards positive psychosocial change have been consistently evidenced, particularly with vulnerable groups. The Lullaby Project (developed by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute in New York) has now been implemented in UK through two pilot experiences where the Irene Taylor Trust (who led the initiative), …
This evaluation asks the question: how do prison art teachers actively seek out opportunity for development and advancement in their specialist field? It empowers the voice of eight prison art teachers as artists working within a broad context of custodial settings including young offender’s institutes, adult male prisons and …
This research involved 26 women who had successfully completed a Good Vibrations project, finding that:
Previous research has highlighted the benefits of implementing music-centred interventions in correctional settings. The present study used a mixed method approach to explore prisoners’ experiences of a week-long Indonesian percussion music course, introduced in a UK sex offender prison to enhance motivation and readiness for change pre-treatment. Study one …
The report explores the project’s impacts on participants’ wellbeing and resilience, awareness and understanding, and musical skills. Based on observations, questionnaires, interviews and focus groups, it contains a wealth of detail about the creative process and the experience of participants. The report also looks at the project as an …
The report explains the results of exploratory research into the work of the prison based charity Changing Tunes, which uses music both within and also outside prison with offenders and ex offenders. Evidence revealed that the pro social impact on the participants came as a result both of participation …
This report presents and discusses the findings of an evaluation of an arts-based mentoring scheme that is aimed at prolonging and enhancing desistance from crime through providing former prisoners with opportunities to continue engaging with the arts after release. The evaluation focused both on the implementation and effectiveness of …
The purpose of this research project was to explore the older offender population and there engagement with the Good Vibration project. The research found that:
This report is an evaluation of Rideout’s Talent 4… Europe programme. Talent 4… is an arts-based diagnostic programme designed to help participants identify personal strengths and skills to help increase motivation and inform better decision making about future training or employment. This evaluation analyses data from a total of …
This report presents findings from the second half of a four year art residency at HMP Grendon. Through analysis of observational data, interviews, focus groups, and assessments of social climate with prisoners at HMP Grendon, this report concludes that the residency has promoted a number of positive outcomes. There …
The report explores the impact of a creative writing programme developed to engage ‘hard to reach’ learners in prison. The mechanism was a creative writing competition, incorporating a schedule of workshops in 28 prisons, encouraging entrants to write pieces for broadcast on National Prison Radio (NPR). Using qualitative and …
Women at the HeArt was a Thames Valley Partnership project, funded by Arts Council England, The Monument Trust and Thames Valley Probation, building on the organisation’s experience of using the arts with vulnerable groups.
Aims:
118 young people engaged in a participatory music programme across eight youth justice settings in England and Wales. The research objectives were to [1] investigate meanings and values young offenders attribute to music, their relationships with music, and its significance to their health, wellbeing, lifestyle and social status; [2] observe …
The report followed Music in Prisons as they ran a pilot ‘through the gate’ project which, through music, aimed to provide longer-term rehabilitative opportunities to previous project participants in order to help bridge the gap between life inside and out prison. The key aims were to assist reintegration; impact …
A three-year creative writing and mentoring project working at the DSPD Unit, HMP Frankland. The report shows how the project contributed to the overall well-being of men in the Unit and contributed to the rehabilitation programme. Section 2 includes a Replicability Model and the development of performance indicators and …
Carried out by Northumbria University and Bath Spa University, this report highlights examples of how the arts can support positive changes linked to personal agency, efficacy and identity, which are linked to the highly individualised journey of desistance from criminal behaviour. Key findings show that participation in arts activities …
The report tells the story of the Prison Reading Groups (PRG) project from its beginnings in 1999 to the present. It makes the case for the importance of reading groups as informal learning in prison, and provides extensive evidence of the benefits of the groups: from prison governors, policy …
This is an evaluation of a three year project which took place in St Andrews Medium Secure Hospital in Birmingham. The study will provide a comparison of the impact on the different wards and will include an exploration of the impact on the patients, the staff and the general atmosphere …
The purpose of this evaluation is to demonstrate the long-term impact and cost-effectiveness of Family Man to policy makers, funders, prisons and practitioners; and to complement Gwyneth Boswell’s qualitative study of the revised Family Man and other previous evaluations.
Using theoretical frameworks such as CBT, role theory, social learning theory and narrative therapy, Forensic Psychologist Rebecca Day explores women offenders’ experience of Geese Theatre Company’s one week project ‘Journey Woman’, which was delivered four times at HMP Foston during 2007/08.
Supporting employability and personal effectiveness (SEPE) is the name of a qualification which was first conceived by the University of Exeter, developed and accredited by Edexcel and piloted through Superact by funding from Leonardo Lifelong Learning Project and the Medicor Foundation in five European countries. The arts were used …
This qualitative evaluation by Sheffield Hallam University was designed to:
This is an external evaluation of the PEETA project involving the development, piloting and subsequent award of a new BTEC qualification known as Supporting Employability and Personal Effectiveness (SEPE). The qualification aims to help those who may find accessing traditional routes to employability challenging. The project was piloted in …
This evaluation looked at the project from the point of view of music education, identifying individual and social factors generated through musical development that also are attributed to desistence from crime. These were divided into two categories:-
Individual Agency:
Personal Identity
Diversity
Motivation
Hope
Self-determination
Personal strengths
Social …
This study investigated whether ‘Get Into Reading’, a literature-based intervention, which had been established in other custodial contexts and non-custodial mental health settings in the UK transposed to a female prison; HMP Low Newton, and whether any of the benefits identified in custodial and non-custodial contexts elsewhere were reported …
As part of WIPN's comprehensive evaluation of their work undertaken by Sheffield Hallam University, a separate evaluation of their Special Projects programmes was completed, focusing on the impact of the programme delivery on participants and stakeholders, specifically focusing on the challenges and benefits of the indoividual projects, their developents …
An independent evaluation of the fifth consecutive year of the Summer Arts College programme (2011) has shown that the programme continued to meet its objectives of reducing offending, increasing educational engagement and improving basic skills through the arts for young people at risk of (re-)offending.
Comparisons across the five years of …
This paper discusses new empirical evidence for a positive relationship between musical learning and desistance from crime. On investigating the learning processes occurring within a Javanese gamelan project in a Young Offenders Institution, parallels between musical learning processes and the development of certain attributes linked to desistance from crime …
This report aims to evaluate the impact of Clean Break's Back on Track programme's objectives to engage with female offenders at the point of arrest, in order to assess their underlying issues and, on the basis of this mandatory conditional assessment, to offer referrals for appropriate support within Clean …
In late 2010, the Arts Alliance commissioned National Philanthropy Capital (NPC) to explore whether the value of the arts in criminal justice could be expressed through economic analysis. To do this, they selected three arts charities as case studies and undertook economic analyses of their interventions.
This report quantifies …
This report aims to assess the impact of MID’s Community Exchange programme, and the quality of the participatory music making involved in the case studies presented, as well as case studies and information presented in previous reports evaluating projects which took place between 1st April 2007 – 31st March …
An Evaluation of the Longer-Term Effectiveness of Safe Ground’s Revised Family Relationships Programme on Prisoner Graduates, their Supporters and Families, this independent study assessed the longer-term impact of the Family Man programme delivered in HMPs Belmarsh, Birmingham, Bristol, Highpoint, Leeds, Parc (Wales) and Wandsworth from 2008-10. It concluded that …
This outcomes report and accompanying digest is part of a series of publications summarising the outcomes of the four years of Summer Arts Colleges run between 2007-11. The evaluation has shown that the programme consistently meets its objectives of reducing offending, increasing educational engagement, improving basic skills,achieving a qualification and …
Through observation and interviews with inmates and staff,this report documents the process of developing an artistic residency in a Therapeutic Community prison and provides an evaluation of the impact on those taking part. Based on observations across four prison wings and interviews with sixteen inmates, this report is able …
An evidence review of published, international, peer-reviewed and ‘grey’ literature that explores the effects of music making on NEET young people or those ‘at risk’ of becoming NEET, including a specfic review of 34 Youth Music funded projects that delivered music-related activity to NEET young people or those ‘at risk’ …
This review, by the Commissioning Strategies Group (CSG) of NOMS, examines the elements of the programme design and delivery of the Safe Ground 'Family Man' propgramme in relation to CSG standards for effective interventions. It covers:
This review by the University of the West of England (UWE) was commissioned by Youth Music in March 2011 with the purpose of identifying evidence concerning the impact of music making on young people within the youth justice system. The Review aim was to gather and, if possible, synthesise evidence …
An independent qualitative evaluation into the work of Fine Cell Work (FCW) in five prisons across England and Scotland, to identify the key benefits of being involved with FCW, establish why offenders participate and continue their involvement and investigate changes in soft outcomes such as behaviour, feelings about prison …
An evaluation of a series of arts-based interventions across the Scottish criminal justice system, focusing on the impact of engagement in these programmes on offenders’ attitudes and behaviours as well as their ability to learn.
The findings concentrate on examining the quality of the arts experience, the people and …
A review of arts-based practice within Leicester City Youth Offending Service (YOS) engaging young people at risk of offending - including YP on RAP and ISSP programmes. Descriptions of visual, drama, media and music interventiions including case study projects from organisations such as Soft Touch as well as the …
An evaluation of a participatory creative music programme for older prisoners in 6 prisons to assess its impact on improving health and well being. The evaluation focused on analysing the workshop experience; benefits and opportunities of the programme; and the perspectives of the musicians.
Evaluation of the trial Family Support Worker at HMPs Belmarsh, Bristol, Leeds & Wandsworth, involving Pact, Safe Ground and Jigsaw.
It concludes that there is a clear need for this type of role which provides an effective link between the prisoners and their families. The service provided was held …
An independent evaluation of a pilot for a new skills development course for young women in custody delivered by Clean Break in April 2010.
The evaluation report identified that the project convincingly demonstrated the value of drama exercises, creative education and the use of role play in teaching …
This study examined the impact of Inside Talk, a theatre-based programme designed to improve listening and speaking skills of offenders. The study used psychometric testing and post-programme interviews to assess the effectiveness of the programme. Interviews revealed the positive impact the programme had on participants. This provides evidence supporting …
This evaluation is a participant-focused evaluation, looking at the responses of detainees actively participating in the project, members of IRC staff who were directly involved, and how members of the community responded to two of the community exchange projects which took place in 2008/2009.
It covers the three key areas of …
An independent evaluation of music based pilot programme for NEET young people. It focuses on the delvery and impact of the programme, especially regarding engagement in Education,Triaining and Employment (ETE), basic skills and educational achievement and young peoples' attitudes towards education progression routes.
An evaluation of Talking to Byron, a drama-based knife crime awareness project, funded by the Home Office, that the NYT took into schools in three London boroughs from January 2009 — September 2009 (9 months). This report shows the impact of Talking to Byron on its audiences – which included …
AN EVALUATION OF SUPPORTERS’ PARTICIPATION IN THE REVISED ‘FAMILY MAN’ PROGRAMME DELIVERED IN BELMARSH, BIRMINGHAM, BRISTOL, HIGHPOINT AND WANDSWORTH PRISONS
This evaluation is based on the work of Artlink in HMP/YOI Cornton Vale from April 2008 to April 2009, as part of the Arts and Restorative Justice Programme introduced there in 2007. The first section of this report briefly reviews the relevant literature, which highlights the benefits of having …
This is an evaluation of the implementation of Prison Radio Association’s projects in prisons in 2008 with the objectives of providing prisons with support to set up their own radio stations and to develop the PRA web site as an educational resource. It was part of a strategic three-year …
An independent report on the 2007 Summer Arts Colleges intitiative focusing on reducing re-offeding, increasing educational engagement, improving literacy and numeracy skills and ETE progression routes.
The findings show positive impacts for the young people in each of the key outcome areas of engagement in ETE, offending behaviour
and engagement in the …
A narrative-based evaluation charting and discussing the impact and issues involved in brazilian-based AfroReggae’s project work in the UK with young people at risk in the inner city in London and Manchester in 2006. “What can we learn from AfroReggae for our own development of effective practice in creative …
An evaluation of the two-year experimental phase of Dance United’s Academy project, this report showed that the Academy’s dance-led education programme delivered measurable increases in their capacity to learn and imparted a range of so-called ‘soft’ skills, which can, in turn, be linked to very favourable ‘hard’ outcomes in …
An evaluation of the projects delivered by Music In Detention (MiD) in 3 Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) during 2007-08.
It covers the music interventions, quality of life (for detainees) and channels of communicaton (between IRCs and communities/wider public). Within these areas it focused on the elements of self-expression, …
The purpose of this evaluation was to examine the developments Safe Ground had made to one of its prison interventions, Family Man, and to the Safe Ground network during the period 2007-08 following recommendations made in previous reviews. It utilised semi structured qualitative face to face interviews, telephone interviews …
An active drama-based approach combined with cognitive-behavioural techniques was used to explore issues such as masculinity, power and control, pride and shame and victim awareness. Reductions in anger were hypothesised - a single group pre/post design assessed the levels of anger before and after the course.
An indendepent evaluation of the seven Summer Arts Colleges programmes run in 2006, focusing on the effectivenss of an arts-based structured prorgamme, progression routes to ETE and reducing re-offending in the 2 months following the programme.
The main findings of the Summer Arts College evaluation are
largely positive. For most of the …
An evaluation of the impact of the performance of play in HMP Brixton on the Synergy Theatre participants invloved and the audiences.
This report summarises the findings of case study research into a drama based Positive Activities for Young People (PAYP) project.
The findings of this case study research suggest the following factors need to be considered and implemented for the effective use of arts projects within key programmes targeting young people at …
Intended as a practical tool for organisations and individuals working in dance and social inclusion, covering: planning, partnerships, recruitment and retention of participants, professional development, project activity, evaluation, outcomes and, legacy. It also included a brief evaluation of case studies from the series of ACE funded dance organisations working …
An action research project that explored models of good practice in dance and social exclusion though six ACE funded dance-led projects that aimed to tackle problems associated with social exclusion. Growing out of the Art of Inclusion report (2004) and in turn feeding into the good practice guide Dance Included: …
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to conduct research into the effects and effectiveness of arts projects in PRUs and LSUs. The study was also to consider the distinctive contribution that arts activities (as compared with other curriculum experiences) might make to pupils’ …
Time Well Spent shares some of the key lessons learned from Music in Prisons’ programmes of music projects over six years, focusing on the stages of project delivery and the impact on participants, staff and musicians.
It follows the journey of all projects from the excitement of the initial idea or …
The first comprehensive review examining the effectiveness of the arts in criminal justice settings, particularly the use of arts in the prevention of crime, in custodial and community sentencing, and resettlement. Starting with a strategic literature review of relevant worldwide practice from 1997 through to 2003, it then goes on …
This evaluation commissioned by the OLSU, examined how far the 'Family Man' and 'Fathers Inside' programmes contributed towards the ‘Skills for Life Strategy’. It found that both programmes support the strategy by focusing on speaking, listening and responding skills and includes details of the percentages of FM & FI course …
An Arts Council England (ACE) research study to establish benchmarks for access, participation and progression in the arts for young people on DTOs; identify what young people perceive as the critical barriers to their participation and progression in the arts; explore what associated professionals perceive to be the critical barriers …
The evaluation report concluded that findings indicate that the programme can be effective in the selection, engagement and facilitation of attitudinal and personal change for women who identify themselves as having problems with the management and expression of angry feelings. This evaluation focused on two key factors:
To …
Evaluation of a long-term drama residency facilitated by Rideout at HMP Dovegate Therapeutic Community. The residency consituted a number of participatory performance projects and a Creative Leadership Skills course in which prisoners attended workshops about all aspects of running community arts projects. This report assesses the impact of the residency …
An Arts Council England (ACE) evaluation, exploring practice and outcomes within three different identified models of social inclusion work, involving 28 artsorganisations participating in the research and builds on a literature review, The Arts and Social Exclusion: a review prepared for the Arts Council of England (Jermyn, 2001).
The overall objectives …
A ‘narrative’ evaluation giving an impressionistic account of 12 visits made to arts projects in Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Learning Support Units (LSUs) around the country, trying to capture the actuality of the experiences that each centre was going through.
A nine month evaluation of Fathers Inside at HMP Ashwell that includes a range of data from programme documents, comparative literature and research, direct observation of the programme, and from semi-structured interviews with participant prisoners, their partners, child-carers and children. It concludes that Fathers Inside brings about changes in parenting …
A research evaluation conducted on behalf of Motionhouse Dance Theatre by Surrey University of their dance programmes in HMP Dovegagte.
Surrey University is conducting a longitudinal investigation into the efficacy of HMP Dovegate’s Therapeutic Community.
This report evaluates Motionhouse Dance Theatre’s Dancing Inside Project (spring 2003 – summer 2004), funded by the …
No information available - contact the CCJS research director, Roger Grimshaw
This evaluation by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) of Safe Ground's 'Parents for the 21st Century' initiative, is divided into two distinct phases. The first focuses on the process of development, whereby inmates played a major role in the production of the course materials - the aim of …
This present study examines year two of the Dancing Inside project:Motionhouse Dance Theatre workshops conducted with prisoners in HMP Dovegate’s Therapeutic Community.
Its aim was to provide evidence for the short term impacts of participating in the workshops and also to examine the longer term gains made by dance participants. …
Fair is an evaluation of a collaborative project between Music in Prisons and the National Youth Theatre. The project involved the creation of an original piece of music theatre devised and performed by 19 women. This report summarises the immediate effects of the project and the results of evaluation and …
This study looked at the educational benefits of taking part in Good Vibrations, setting its work in the context of prison education in the UK. It also assessed the value-for-money of Good Vibrations courses.
The evaluation was specifically commissioned to build upon two earlier evaluations undertaken by Good Vibrations …
A feasibility study examining the practical, logistical and methodological issues involved in carrying out effective research on the impact of arts interventions in criminal justice settings. Rather than producing evidence of project outcomes, this study addresses the issue of what constitutes good quality research and evidence in this context …
Evaluation of a two-week taster course in radio production for delivery in a number of prisons across the West Midlands - part of a strategic three-year activity plan (2007- 2009) - it identifies key factors for success, best practice and for staff training to develop Prison Radio wider across …
An evaluation of the impact of a NYT drama project on the paretning skills and rehabilitation of young offenders.
The experiential nature of this course enabled participants to explore and experience the issues they are likely to face as young fathers in prison, whilst incarcerated, and on release. …
An evlauation of the impact of involvement of young offenders and ex-offenders in the production and performance of an issue-based play and the impact on the audiences.
The project reached its target of reaching audiences of at least 1,000 young people and the production had a clear impact …
This evaluation looks at the key elements in the design, delivery and outcomes of this Clean Break project, including recruitment and retention, quality of design and delivery, support for progression routes and working with delivery partners.
PPRG were commissioned to evaluate the Miss Spent programme from January 2006 using a multi-method research design including interviews and focus groups and documentary analysis. The evaluation considered:
The report evaluated a series of five-day music projects which took place in eight men’s prisons across England from October 2007 to July 2008. The evaluation was aimed at understanding the impact of the project on its participants’ engagement with purposeful activities whilst in prison. In particular the impact of …
A report on the feasibility of conducting a retrospective SROI analysis of a small-scale school-based arts project. The evaluation measured the impact of the project on levels of participation, behaviour and absences, while the SROI used ‘social cost’ data to calculate the monetary benefit to society of its impact.
This report looked at the longer-term benefits of taking part in Good Vibrations. The researchers found that participants in Good Vibrations courses maintained the positive benefits six to nine months on, and in particular that participants experienced:
Greater levels of engagement and an increased openness to wider learning
This study examines the impact of Geese Theatre’s Reconnect programme on the men who attended it.
Evaluation objectives:
This review provides a proposal for a conceptual or theoretical basis for the Family Man programme. Commisssioned by Safe Ground, Professor James Maguire examines the programme from a psychological perspective and identifies the mechanisms for change which it employs, comparing them to other recognised and accepted models and mechanisms.
An independent report on the 2008 Summer Arts Colleges intitiative focusing on reducing re-offending, increasing educational engagement, improving literacy and numeracy skills and ETE progression routes.
The goal of this report is to develop a 'logic model' that can account for how Changing Tunes (CT) works as a rehabilitative strategy, outlining both the dynamic processes involved and their immediate/short-term and medium/longer-term impacts on the lives of participants.
This analysis identified seven, key elements of …
An analysis of the long-term and wider impact of the Good Vibrations Project. This report, commissioned from Birmingham City University’s Centre for Applied Criminology, looked at the impact of taking part in Good Vibrations on participants 12-18 months on, assessing the long-term institutional impact of participating and measuring whether any …
This report uses qualitative evaluation to define other key factors influencing participation in arts-based activities through descriptions of other narratives of the participants “buried beneath the surface”, where both social and artistic aims were achieved.
An interim report on the evaluation of the Koestler Trust's mentoring scheme. The evaluation concerns both the implementation and effectiveness of the mentoring scheme, and employs both qualitative and quantitative methods, including direct observation of mentoring sessions and hour-long, face-to-face interviews with both mentors and mentees.
The implementation part of the …
This review was commissioned by Arts Access Australia to examine evidence for the value of visual arts programs in Australian prisons and their impact on adult inmates. It considers current philosophies behind art programs, how they are implemented and how ‘success’ is measured, and includes an annotated bibliography of …
Evaluation of an arts-based workshop programme aiming to increase participants awareness of their own innate talents and skills, this research project sought to measure the effects of participating in a Talent 4... project on offenders' self -belief in their capacity to gain employment, strengths and weaknesses, ability to work with …
The Prison Arts Resource Project (PARP) is an annotated bibliography of evidence-based studies evaluating the impact of arts programs in U.S. correctional settings. Each of the 48 entries includes information about the arts program as well as the study research goals, methods and a summary of findings. Adult offender …
This report aims to draw upon the relational qualities of applied theatre, applied criminology, psychology and sociology to interpret and present key findings from Creating Change. Methods of creative action for social change appear to achieve exceptionally rapid rates of engagement and personal growth and development with individuals, as …
Building Resilience and Overcoming Adversity through Dance & Drama (BROAD) is an innovative dance theatre pilot programme designed for vulnerable groups in prisons, secure children's centres and secure hospitals, co-created by Odd Arts company and Company Chameleon. Its innovation derives from the combination of theatre and dance, underpinned by …
National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance
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